Ward 98 Councillor Laurette Van Zijl writes:
This past two weeks many accusations were made against me along the lines that I have not cared about or done anything for the homeless in Windsor.
Nothing can be further from the truth as the records of the City proves that the plight of the homeless and searching for solutions to the
issue was and is one of the constant projects during my tenure as a Ward councillor.
Some of the platforms I used to plea for assistance for the homeless include a motion to Council, a plea for shelters for the ‘down and out’ at Ward Councillor Forums, a request to the Cresta Shopping Centre Centre to work with SAPS to put the children in shelters, asking the Johannesburg Property Company to make Council flats in Windsor available for the homeless and so the list goes on.
Earlier this year I asked I our Regional RD to arrange for Home Affairs to bring their mobile unit to Windsor in order to issue ID documents to the homeless as was done very successfully in Fairland many years ago – nothing happened
The first sorry fact of the matter is that the homeless in Windsor do not want to move.
I have tried to persuade them to go to the City’s available shelters, as had the Displaced People’s Unit, the City’s social workers and
LDAC (Local Drug Action Committee).
Sometimes they agreed to move, only not to be around when the transport arrived to take them to shelters.
On the rare occasion when one or two were taken to a shelter they were back in Windsor within days.
Most of the time they were defiant, telling us that they are there to stay, that they don’t mind the cold and other harsh conditions of the street.
The situation of these homeless of which the majority are relatively young is a constant worry and I am constantly thinking of ways of alleviating
it – a way that they will also buy into.
The refusal of the Windsor homeless to be part of the ANC’s occupation of the Windsor East Recreation Centre is a clear indication that
they have a very good idea of what they want or do not want and their mind-set must be changed to one of being drug free and having a secure place to stay.
Laurette van Zijl
Ward 98 councillor
0823300593.
Editor’s note: Letter published unedited.
